From Pitch to Pump: BP x McGrath Foundation

There were few sights in Australian sport like that of Glenn McGrath striding in against England at the SCG on his way to taking yet another Ashes wicket. Alongside other Australian cricketing legends like Shane Warne and Steve Waugh, McGrath led Australia through a golden age of sporting dominance – a fierce competitor on the field and a thoughtful proponent off it.

Part of the Australian team that won 16 consecutive Test matches around the turn of the century, McGrath is also the most successful fast bowler in Test history and has a list of achievements to rival his total dismissals. He’s an inductee of the ICC Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, a former NSW Australian of the Year and was named a Member of the Order of Australia in 2008.

Yet, after a sporting career as distinguished as his, McGrath would have been forgiven for simply resting on his laurels following his retirement in 2007. Instead, he turned his focus to charity when, following the diagnosis of wife Jane with breast cancer in 2005, the McGraths founded a breast cancer support and education charity to help fund nurses throughout Australia and raise breast awareness in young Australians. Named the McGrath Foundation, the charity celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2015, following the tragic loss of Jane to the disease in 2008.

Like McGrath’s many successful on-field partnerships throughout his storied career, the McGrath Foundation has also teamed up with BP since 2013, who has raised over one million dollars in funding for McGrath Breast Care Nurses. Breast Cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in Australian women and BP has aimed to fund a new McGrath Breast Care Nurse every year to help provide physical, emotional and psychological support to affected families.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Australia and BP are giving us the chance to help contribute via the Australia’s Most Powerful Fuel campaign – where a portion of all BP fuel sales up until Sunday 9th October will be donated to the McGrath Foundation to help fund Breast Care Nurses. All you need to do is fill up at your local BP service station over the next week or drop in throughout the month to purchase a pink product and help make a difference. BP will also be running a campaign to raise awareness of the McGrath Foundation and encourage donations.